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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · hide · game · firm · bark · wound · hand · lie

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. firm — decided
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. game — a match
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wound — an injury
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — the month
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — music
  19. lie — to recline
  20. firm — steady
  21. wound — an injury
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. firm — a company

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com